Ward’s Take: July 4, 2018

Independence Day! Hopefully it’s going well so far and hopefully you spent a lot of money on fireworks and regret it later as I suggested you do yesterday.

Today, apparently it’s hard to count how many hot dogs someone eats, the Cardinals winning streak lasted one night, temptation when eating healthy sucks, and a message I hope you remember on this Independence Day.

Is it hard to count how many hot dogs someone inhales?

Joey Jaws is a king, that’s all there is to it. The judges that were counting how many hot dogs he consumed today, not so much.

The count on the broadcast was 64. An astounding number, but a little disappointing considering last year he put down 72 and was very vocal in aiming for 75 this year.

But then the official count came out, he actually ate 74.

Is it really that hard to count how many hot dogs a guy has eaten? You’re watching one guy. Two hot dogs, two buns, add two to the scoreboard. Evidently there’s a difficult science to counting how many hot dogs someone eats that I am unaware of.

It didn’t matter so much this year, he blew the competition away. But what if the official count would’ve changed the result?

Imagine if in 2015 we thought Joey just won his ninth straight title, only for the official count to come out and reveal that Matt Stonie actually won it. That would be madness.

The Cardinals winning streak didn’t last very long

One game that is. All things considered, pitching did pretty well last night. Goldy smashed a pretty good pitch from Flaherty over the wall and that ultimately decided it.

The offense was pretty weak yet again. Jose Martinez in right field hasn’t resulted in any embarrassing ‘Matt Adams in the outfield’ like moments, but he only got about one real chance last night. He made the play, so give him that.

Bill Welke umped like Bill Welke. He is truly one of the worst home plate umpires in baseball, but he’s not why the Cardinals lost the game.

My glaring concern is they lost the game last night, and I didn’t feel like I normally do. Normally I’m pretty upset when they can’t pull out a win, which is often, but last night I wasn’t. Almost like I was numb to a loss, like it’s not surprising anymore. I don’t like the feeling, and I hope the Cardinals give me a reason to change it.

Resisting temptation while eating healthy SUCKS

So Kaytlyn and I have my brother with me today. We stop at Taco Bell to get him something to eat and I’m hungry as hell. For those that don’t know, Kaytlyn and I are on a summer shred program right now in preparation for a Miami trip.

I wanted something, but Kaytlyn talked me out of it. I’m terrible with temptation. Temptation is the number one reason why my progress, as far as my body goes, gets stunted. I’m weak.

I fought the urge and I hate my life. Time to go eat some carrots.

Remember this message about Independence Day today

Independence Day, the 4th of July, whatever you call today, remember why we’re here. Remember that this country is the greatest country in the world.

There’s no denying the president of this country is not a very popular man. No matter your opinion on the guy, please remember that our current leader doesn’t dictate the history of this great country.

This country has been through the ringer. We declared independence from the British on this date in 1776, an unpopular move that many thought would flop. The country persevered and we’re in a lot better place since then.

We’ve had good president’s, we have bad ones. We’ve been in good economic times, we’ve been in bad ones. No country is perfect, but not many countries are free.

A lot of countries wouldn’t let us talk about Donald Trump like we do. A lot of countries don’t have simple freedoms that we take advantage of every day (it hasn’t even been two weeks since women in Saudi Arabia were finally allowed to drive).

Immigration is really prominent in this country. No matter what your stance on immigration is, we wouldn’t have so many people trying to get in if we didn’t provide an ideal living situation. People want to be here.

If you find yourself doubting the country, check your privilege and remind yourself all this country provides you. Be happy, enjoy this place.

Have a good rest of your day and a good night tonight. Shoot off plenty of fireworks, enjoy your freedom, and just take a few moments whenever you get the chance to appreciate the country you live in.

I’m proud to be from the United States of America, and I hope you are too.